01 January,2026 03:43 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
ISI and Jamaat-e-Islami have significantly increased their focus on these terror groups. File pic
Bangladesh-based terror groups Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen are increasingly using their proxies while carrying out activities in India, news agency IANS reported, citing intelligence agencies.
The two terror groups are also looking to create homegrown outfits in India so that Bangladesh has the deniability factor.
The terrorism by Bangladeshi agencies is similar to what the Lashkar-e-Tayiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad have been doing in India, IANS reported, citing intelligence agencies. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba uses groups such as âThe Resistance Front' for operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the case of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the proxies are the People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAAF) and the Kashmir Tigers (KT). While these terror groups are allegedly just proxies, both the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are trying to pass them off as homegrown outfits.
Intelligence agencies said the ISI and Jamaat-e-Islami have significantly increased their focus on these terror groups. Most of its cadres who were in jail were released without any explanation following the ouster of ex-Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, IANS reported.
Reports also indicate that they have been given a free hand to operate in the country, but the message is that all the attacks should be focused on India. While the immediate threat persists in bordering states, officer say that these groups are capable of operating in both north and south India.
An Intelligence Bureau officer said, "They have been witnessing a new trend where the HuJi and JMB are concerned. Their modules across India are operating under different aliases, and this is a clear strategy to dodge the security agencies."
Assam and Tripura police in a joint operation busted a module that was called the Imam Mahamude Kafila (IMK). This is a proxy of the JMB, revealed the probe by the police. Officers said that this module has been around but was reactivated recently to carry out attacks in India. JMB also has other Indian affiliates, namely the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan.
The HuJI, too, has several proxies that are in the process of being activated in India ahead of the West Bengal elections, stated officers.
The terror outfit had in the past operated alongside the Indian Mujahideen. It also has proxies such as Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuL) and the Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF). This is the same group that claimed responsibility for the 2002 attack on the American Center in Kolkata.
This is a strategy that has been used by terror groups based out of Pakistan in the past. Officers said one of the main challenges for agencies is the delay in investigations after a module is busted. Operating under different names is intended to confuse security agencies, as it takes time for the trail to lead back to the parent terror group.
Officers also said that having multiple proxies for each terror group was a tactic suggested by the ISI to ensure no direct trail leads back to Bangladesh in the event of a terror attack.
They also stated that Pakistan has resorted to similar tactics in the past to deflect blame, and a comparable approach is now being pushed in Bangladesh to ensure the country does not come under scrutiny from international bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
(With inputs from IANS)
